Game analysis: A Rodeo Road Trip so far like no other

The Spurs’ 106-102 victory at Utah Monday night extended their winning streak to 11 games, including all seven games on the Rodeo Road Trip.

Their victory Monday night gave them the fastest RRT start in history. And with victories in their final two games against Portland on Tuesday and Denver on Thursday, they can top the previous best mark of 8-1 set in 2003. On that trip, they lost their first game before winning their last eight.

Duncan had an concise description why his team was able to stretch its winning streak Monday night.

“Persistence,” he told reporters after the game. “We stuck with it. They did make a run. We came out and didn’t play well for the first couple of minutes and they got themselves a lead. But we knew there was a lot of game left and kind of showed the character of the team and how we’ve been playing the last 10 or 15 games.”

Here’s how they did it.

The game, simply stated: Despite missing key contributors Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter, the Spurs got two late clutch shots from Richard Jefferson and a standout performance from their deep bench to escape with the victory over the Jazz.

Where the game was won: After failing to score in the first 44 minutes of the game, Jefferson hit two critical shots to beat the Jazz. His first one was a 23-footer just inside the 3-point line that gave the Spurs a 100-96 lead with 3:48 left. He then iced the victory with a clinching 3-pointer from deep in the right corner to give the Spurs a 105-100 edge with 6.5 seconds left in the game.

Where it almost got away: Utah erupted for the first 13 points of the second half to claim a 66-56 lead on Josh Howard’s jumper with 8:56 left in the third quarter after a steal and a nice pass from Paul Millsap. Gordon Hayward’s alley-oop dunk gave them their largest lead at 69-58 with 7:29 left in the third quarter, but San Antonio charged back before the end of the quarter. The Spurs closed the quarter on a 10-4 run punctuated by Gary Neal’s 3-pointer that pulled them into an 80-80 at the end of the quarter.

Another surge just before halftime: After trailing for the entire game to that point, the Spurs hit Utah with a 9-0 run keyed Tony Parker’s jumper that gave them a 41-40 lead with 5:25 left in the half. After another Utah run, a 6-2 close by the Spurs featuring two free throws and an assist by Parker boosted them to a 56-53 halftime advantage.

Player of the game I: Parker provided another big lift with game-high totals of 23 points and 11 assists. It was his third consecutive game with at least 20 points and at least 10 assists.

Player of the game II: Matt Bonner kick-started the Spurs back into the game with three first quarter 3-pointers and finished with five treys in a season-high 20-point effort.

Player of the game III: Duncan was productive across the board with 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists. It was his fifth 20-point effort of the season.

Most unsung: DeJuan Blair gobbled up some of the minutes available with Splitter’s injury by notching 15 points in nearly 27 minutes of playing time. It was most he has scored since producing 17 against Atlanta on Jan. 25.

Attendance: The game attracted a crowd of 19,105 — about 800 short of capacity.

Did you notice I: The Spurs stayed out of foul trouble with only five fouls and no player with more than one in the first half. That quickly changed in the second half when they picked up five fouls in less than three minutes to start the third quarter.

Did you notice II: With no Ginobili or T.J. Ford, Popovich turned to rookie guard Cory Joseph with 3:51 left in the first quarter. He responded with three assists and was plus-4 during that span — the only Spur who produced a positive plus-minus in the first quarter — but did not play during the rest of the game.

Stat of the game I: The Spurs pushed their winning streak to 11 consecutive games. It’s their longest since winning 12 straight from Nov. 1 through Nov. 24, 2010.

Stat of the game II: Parker went for at least 20 points and 10 assists for the third straight game. He’s accomplished that feat only once before in his career — in three games from March 22-25, 2009.

Stat of the game III: With Parker with 23 points and Bonner and Duncan with 20 each, the Spurs had three 20-point scorers in the same game for the first time this season.

Stat of the game IV: The Jazz dropped to 15-16 and fell below .500 for the first time since they were 2-3 on Jan. 2.

Stat of the game V: Al Jefferson led Utah with 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. But his loss dropped his record against the Spurs in his career to 1-20.

Weird stat of the game I: The Spurs hit 47.6 percent from 3-point range and sank 10 for the game, marking the 12th time they have hit at least 10 3-pointers in a game this season. Their record in those games is 10-2.

Weird stat of the game II: After missing four of their first five free throws, the Spurs finished the game by hitting 23 of their last 25 from the line.

Weird stat of the game III: After hitting 51.1 percent from the field in the first half, the Spurs missed their first eight shots of the second half.

Not a good sign: The Spurs were manhandled inside as the Jazz dominated them for a 56-30 edge in points in the paint. Their minus-26 game deficit is the highest this season as the Jazz scored more inside points against the Spurs since Denver notched 60 points on Jan. 7.

Best plus/minus scores: Bonner was plus-13, Neal was plus-12 and Duncan was plus-8.

Quote of the game: ”It’s great for us, but there is absolutely no focus on it. We’re not even thinking about it. We’re going to play it a game at a time … however it works, it works,” Duncan, to reporters on the Spurs’ winning streak.

Howthe schedule stacks up: The Spurs will finish the Rodeo Road Trip Tuesday night in Portland and Thursday night in Denver before the All-Star break. The Jazz have one game left before the break, traveling to Minnesota for a game Wednesday.

Injuries: Ginobili (strained left oblique muscle) and Splittler (strained right calf) missed their first game since they were injured Saturday at the Clippers. Ford missed his 22nd game (Spurs record 17-5) with a torn left hamstring. The Jazz played without starting guard Raja Bell, who missed his fourth game after re-injuring his right adductor.